Recess had just begun, and Knife decided to skip second period to smoke behind the school by himself. He could have texted one of his friends, but he didn't want to bother them.

Meanwhile, Balloon and Nickel managed to endure their two-hour literature class with Silver Spoon. In the past, they would have complained, but they had oddly grown to like Silver Spoon. Their main concern was the stress of potentially losing Suitcase and Baseball; they couldn't stop thinking about the argument they had with them that morning.

As for Test Tube and Fan, they had a detailed plan. Technically, it wasn't hacking, per se. They planned to sneak into Mephone's office during his lunch break, 'hack' his password by checking his password book, send an email, and then delete it from the sent folder to avoid detection. Once they finalised their plan, they returned to their classes, both impatiently waiting for recess to start so they could begin Operation Pickle.

The moment the bell rang for second period, Fan practically ran out the door. He had to meet Test Tube near the office; their plan was to hide and wait for Mephone to leave for his break, then quickly sneak in. They felt a bit guilty about leaving Balloon and Nickel behind, especially since they didn't have anyone else to hang out with. Paintbrush and Lightbulb had already messaged saying they couldn't be bothered to come in today. But in the end, this was kind of for Balloon and Nickel too. Maybe if Knife finally got Pickle back, he would stop harassing Nickel. Hopefully. While Fan and Test Tube plotted their entry into the office, Balloon and Nickel headed straight to Candle's office to see if she was available. They really wanted to talk with her.

Balloon and Nickel knocked on Candle's door, which she answered almost immediately. Inside her office, Silver Spoon sat on one of the chairs, both of them with a cup of coffee and some food. It was clear they were enjoying their recess break together. The office looked busy, with piles of paper on Candle's desk, and she appeared tired and slightly stressed, indicating a hectic day. Silver Spoon had brought her the food and coffee, being a thoughtful boyfriend. While it was nice to see, Balloon and Nickel still saw Silver Spoon as a big simp.

"Are you busy?" Nickel asked carefully, worried they might be disturbing Candle during her break.

Candle shook her head and opened the door wider.

"Not at all, please, come in."

Although she wanted a break from the constant stream of students needing her attention, she couldn't refuse Balloon and Nickel, especially since she knew things hadn't gone well that morning. She already knew about Nickel crying as Knife had informed her earlier and everything else, Silver Spoon had shared with her.

As the boys entered, Silver Spoon stood up from the comfortable blue couch. Not wanting to be a bother, he kissed Candle's cheek and politely left the room.

Balloon and Nickel entered and took a seat on the couch. Balloon immediately grabbed Nickel's hand, knowing he, himself, would get emotional and needed Nickel's support so he didn't break down.

Candle was glad to see Nickel and Balloon still together, not wanting Suitcase and Baseball to be the reason they broke up. She smiled faintly at them before sitting down in her office chair.

"I assume you've heard," Nickel spoke up.

As Balloon and Nickel vented to Candle about the events that had unfolded, poor Knife was elsewhere, trying to find someone to hang out with. He had already seen Cheesy and Trophy casually walking around the schoolyard, chatting. Since Trophy hadn't seen Cheesy for a few days, Knife decided to leave them be and instead searched for Taco and Microphone. He found them sitting in a small corner behind the school, watching anime on Microphone's laptop. Knife walked around the corner, expecting to find them there, and stopped when he did.

"Hey," he spoke up, catching their attention.

Microphone paused the video, and they both looked up at Knife.

"Hi Knife, how was therapy?" Taco asked, honestly curious if it had helped Knife at all.

"T's was aight..." Knife shrugged a bit. "Whatcha watching?" Knife asked curiously, clearly wanting to hang out with them as he was feeling a bit lonely.

"Uh, anime," Microphone responded with a smile.

Knife looked at them both; they seemed peaceful and cosy in their little corner. He felt bad about disturbing them.

"Heh, aight, I'll leave you to it then." Knife sounded slightly let down but tried his best not to show it on his face.

"Are you sure?" Taco asked, slightly concerned for Knife.

"Yeah, of course, heh, I've got better things to do than hang around you girls anyways," he teased with an assuring smile.

Both Taco and Microphone knew that was a lie, but they nodded and waved as Knife left, returning to their anime.

Knife walked away, cursing under his breath. Why couldn't he just admit he was feeling alone, that he wanted someone to hang out with? Why did he have to let his pride get in the way?

Knife walked over to the basketball court and saw Paper and OJ training.

"Heh, nice form, OJ," Knife remarked randomly, causing OJ to miss his shot.

OJ turned grumpily to face Knife. "Do you even know how to play basketball, Knife?" he sassed.

Knife chuckled. "Of course I do! But I wouldn't play with you losers anyway!"

Damn it. Why did he have to say that?

"Okay? Then go away?" OJ said, looking frustrated. He hated when Knife randomly approached them just to annoy them.

"Kay." Knife shrugged and left the basketball court.

He was starting to get really desperate; he just wanted someone to hang out with, someone to talk to. Part of him wanted to actually be open about his feelings. He wasn't feeling too good about himself or his recent actions. He was even starting to feel remorse for certain things he had done. Like kissing Fan—Fan was good to him, one of the only people he felt comfortable letting his guard down with. Now, he had probably pushed him away too.

Knife leaned against a wall and pulled out his phone. He was so desperate to talk that he was going to message Fan, even after kissing him and basically telling him to stay away. He knew how bad that made him look, but he just wanted someone to talk to. He quickly messaged Fan:

'Wyd'

Simple, but hopefully effective.

Fan and Test Tube had just entered Mephone's office when Fan's phone buzzed. He took it out of his pocket and saw the message from Knife. Smiling a bit, he was glad Knife didn't want to push him away. It was funny; Knife was worried about Fan pushing him away, and Fan was worried that Knife wanted to push him away.

Test Tube was about to open Mephone's password book when she noticed Fan smiling at a text. She grumbled and snatched Fan's phone out of his hand. Seeing who it was from, she looked up at Fan with an annoyed expression.

"Seriously?" she asked in a frustrated tone.

"He seems lonely!" Fan protested.

Test Tube glared at him before typing a response back to Knife.

"Wait! Don't say anything mean!" Fan quickly interjected, now feeling worried.

"He can handle mean. Besides, we're literally risking suspension to help him get back with his boyfriend," Test Tube snapped, sending the message and sassily handing Fan his phone back.

'It's Test Tube. Fan's girlfriend. Just in case you forgot. Fan is busy right now.'

That was the message she sent to Knife. It was harsh, but she didn't care. She was sick of Knife hitting on her boyfriend! Fan looked at the message and frowned, but he knew he couldn't argue with Test Tube over it. He put his phone back into his pocket and continued to help Test Tube with their mission: Operation Pickle.

Knife received the text and huffed. He was slightly concerned that Test Tube knew he had kissed Fan. He had wanted Fan to tell her as a way of pushing Fan away, but now he regretted it. He wished he hadn't let his emotions get the best of him. He just hoped Test Tube wouldn't try to murder him now; she seemed really snappy in that text. Knife sighed and put his phone away, feeling increasingly lost about who he could talk to.

Knife thought for a moment... maybe Candle was still free? He decided that a little more therapy might be good for him. So, he made his way back to the office and down the hall until he found the counsellor's office. He knocked on the door and waited for Candle to answer. The blinds were down, so he couldn't see through the window to tell if she was inside or busy.

Candle excused herself from Balloon and Nickel for a moment to open the door. Upon seeing Knife, she felt a bit nervous, knowing that Balloon and Nickel weren't exactly on good terms with him right now.

Knife locked eyes with Balloon and Nickel, both of whom glared at him, clearly not pleased to see him. They both looked like they had been crying... yikes. Knife stepped back.

"Sorry, Knife," Candle sighed. Knife understood without her needing to say more. He just shrugged weakly and went on his way.

Knife walked out of the office and sat against the brick wall. He took out his phone and started scrolling through his old messages with Pickle, something he did quite often these days. He wished he could just get over him. It had been an entire year, but he was still caught up on him. What if, once Pickle was allowed to speak to him again, he had moved on? Knife wouldn't know what to do with himself. That constant worry gnawed at him. He was waiting for Pickle, loyal in some sense. Sure, he had done random hookups here and there and kissed Fan... of all people, but he hadn't entered the dating scene. He was still hoping to have Pickle back. Knife sat alone, feeling pathetic but trying to act cool about it, as if it were his own choice to be alone.

It wasn't long before someone spotted him sitting by himself. Luckily, it wasn't anyone who would tease him. In fact, it was a friend of his—YinYang.

"Knife looks lonely, we should sit with him."

"Maybe he wants to be alone."

"I don't think so."

"Ugh, fine, we can go sit with him."

YinYang walked up and sat beside Knife. Knife quickly turned off his phone, not wanting YinYang to see what he was doing. He turned to face him, a smile on his lips. He was slightly relieved to have someone to talk to but also somewhat embarrassed it was YinYang of all people. Don't get him wrong, he found YinYang really fun to talk to! But YinYang was an 8th grader, and one without many friends... it was kind of embarrassing for someone like Knife to be seen sitting with him. Then again, he had already sunk low when he kissed one of the most dorkish kids in the school. How much lower could he get?

"Hey, YinYang, how's it going?" Knife smiled, trying to act like he was okay, but YinYang could see past it.

"Yin thinks you're not okay."

"You look sad"

"Pssh, sad? No, I'm fine! What are you even doing here anyways? Go hang out with your friends, you don't need to sit with me." Knife tried to usher them off.

"We don't have many friends, besides you're our friend, no?"

"Yin... I– I'm graduating soon, you need friends your own age, like... I dunno, the cherry twins are nice right? Or Marshmallow and Apple? Those girls are in your grade, right?" Knife asked. "What about Bot! Test Tube's sibling right? They're nice... I'm sure they'd hang out with you." Knife added.

YinYang frowned.

"They are all girls!"

"Pretty sure Bot is nonbinary." Knife points out.

"Yes, but that is not a boy!"

Knife huffed, there was no winning with YinYang, was there?

"Okay, okay, fine, you can sit with me, since you're so lonely~" Knife teased a bit, even though it was him that was lonely, YinYang had each other, Knife had no one.

"Knife, are you sure that you're okay?" Yin asked, he could tell something was wrong.

"I'm fine." Knife snapped, getting frustrated that he was being asked.

"I usually do not agree with Yin, but something seems off about you." Yang adds.

"Fine, you wanna know what's wrong? I'll tell you. I'm lonely," Knife snapped. "Everyone has somebody except me. Trophy is hanging out with Cheesy, Taco and Microphone are watching anime, Fan is doing something with Test Tube, who, mind you, made it very clear I shouldn't be talking to her boyfriend. I even tried to hang out with OJ and Paper, but those two were pricks! I tried to talk to Candle, and who do I see there? Balloon and Nickel! I wouldn't be lonely if Pickle was still here, but he isn't. I just want someone to talk to, but there is no one!" Knife said in one big breath. He usually didn't let his emotions out like this.

"I... I messed up so much lately because of my anger, because of my clinginess to the past, hoping I'll get Pickle back, trying to seek revenge or make everyone else miserable because I'm unhappy. I keep putting on this fake persona that I'm okay, that I'm this big tough guy who doesn't cry, but even the toughest people cry." Knife huffed softly. "I'm sorry, YinYang, you shouldn't have to deal with this." Knife leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, his head hurting.

"It's okay to feel emotional sometimes." YinYang spoke.

"You can't always hold everything in."

"Candle taught us that."

Knife opened his eyes faintly and looked at them.

"Do you want a Dr Fizz? We packed two in our lunchbox."

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Knife smiled weakly.

YinYang opened their lunch box and pulled out two Dr. Fizz cans, one for himself and one for Knife. They handed it to Knife with a supportive smile.

Knife cracked open the can and sighed. He did feel a bit better after venting. Maybe you really can't keep all your feelings bottled up, even if you're a self-proclaimed 'tough guy.' Tough people are allowed to cry, allowed to be sad. Showing your emotions makes you stronger. Knife was realising that now.

Passing by, Trophy and Cheesy spotted Knife sitting with YinYang. Trophy was surprised to see them together; he didn't expect Knife to still hang out with YinYang outside of the camp. He stopped walking and observed them for a moment. The two of them seemed to be chatting so casually, like pals. Trophy found it slightly amusing, so he took out his phone and snapped a photo.

Cheesy was confusing. Why did Trophy take a photo of that? He gave Trophy a questioning look.

"What?" Trophy snapped back, feeling a bit defensive and confused about Cheesy's reaction.

"Why did you take a photo of that?" Cheesy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Cause it's funny...?" Trophy replied, tilting his head in return, equally puzzled.

"I appreciate humour, but I don't think it's funny to make a thing out of Knife hanging out with YinYang. There's nothing embarrassing or amusing about that. Besides, who would you hang out with if the situation were reversed? Imagine I was expelled and Knife still had Pickle, hm?" Cheesy crossed his arms.

Trophy suddenly felt guilty; he hadn't considered Cheesy's perspective.

"Yeah, I guess I see your point," Trophy shrugged.

"Good," Cheesy sighed. "Come on, let's do another lap around the school before recess ends." He smiled at Trophy, who nodded in agreement.

It seemed like everyone was having a moment of reflection and growth... including Baseball and Suitcase.

In the cafeteria, Suitcase and Baseball sat, trying to wrap their heads around what had happened that morning. It was a lot for them to take in. They wanted to be happy for Balloon and Nickel, and they didn't want to fight with them, but it was all overwhelming. The two of them were alone for most of recess, venting to each other about their feelings, discussing how they felt it was unfair that everything had been thrust upon them so suddenly. They felt unheard by Nickel and Balloon. However, they realised they hadn't been considering Balloon and Nickel's perspective—only how everything was affecting them personally.

Then Bot appeared.

Bot slipped onto the bench and looked at them both. They stopped talking, feeling nervous under Bot's gaze. They had almost forgotten that Bot had been there during the argument. They felt remorseful for putting Bot in a position where they had to witness their friends' conflict.

"Bot—" Suitcase started, but Bot cut her off.

"No, you shouldn't be apologising to me. Don't apologise to me before apologising to Balloon and Nickel," Bot said firmly, crossing their arms. "I understand where both of you are coming from, and I know I can't fully grasp how you feel, having only joined the friendship group this year. But from what I've gathered, Balloon and Nickel have a long history that predates both of you. What right do you two have to dictate to them? I understand they've put you through a lot, and I empathise with how stressful it must have been for you both to deal with them. It was even stressful for me just witnessing the aftermath of their arguments. But I don't think you're fully seeing things from their perspective." Bot voiced their opinion firmly.

"What?!" Suitcase exclaimed. "How are we supposed to just understand their perspective? They were at each other's throats just five days ago, and now they're dating!" Suitcase expressed her confusion.

"Once again, they knew each other before you did. Do you two know how they used to be with each other? Have you seen how they act when they're alone? Maybe they always liked each other. Maybe one reason they never said anything to you guys was because they were afraid you'd react like this," Bot explained passionately. "They told me this isn't something new; those feelings have always been there. They just avoided them and pretended to hate each other to make things easier. Yes, they were mad at each other and hurt each other in the past, but that doesn't mean they don't love each other. They probably went through a lot of stress. You guys weren't at the camp, and I wasn't there either. We don't know how it all happened, so we shouldn't judge them. It's okay if you need time to understand and process, but at least be supportive of your friends, especially since we don't know what they've been through," Bot sighed, tears welling up in their eyes. They didn't mean to get so emotional; they just cared deeply for Balloon and Nickel and hated seeing them fight with their best friends.

Baseball and Suitcase were beginning to grasp the truth in Bot's words. Baseball recalled moments when he had seen Balloon and Nickel getting along—how close and genuinely happy they seemed. Though these instances were rare in recent years, the underlying connection between them was always palpable. The way they joked and smiled at each other held a different kind of meaning.

Now, Baseball was deeply reflecting on everything. He started to feel a twinge of guilt. He remembered how Nickel had talked about Balloon in the past—moments when he would vent about him. One notable instance was when Balloon got hurt, and Nickel helped him, complaining about it later to Baseball. It made Baseball wonder: why would Nickel help Balloon if he truly hated him? Then there was the time Balloon gave Nickel a birthday present, and Nickel reacted with frustration, almost portraying it as a ploy to embarrass him. But perhaps, deep down, Nickel was simply afraid of revealing how much the gesture truly meant to him.

As Baseball pieced these memories together, everything started to make sense.

Suitcase began to recall the time she had confessed her feelings about Nickel to Balloon. His reaction had surprised her—it wasn't what she had expected. She had assumed his response was due to knowing Nickel was gay, but looking back now, there seemed to be something more. His reaction had almost seemed tinged with jealousy or bitterness, despite Balloon already knowing about Nickel's orientation. His eyes had dulled, and while he never admitted to being jealous, it lingered in the air.

At the time, Suitcase had speculated that Balloon might have liked her, which Balloon had vaguely affirmed. Yet, perhaps Balloon hadn't fully understood his own feelings. He knew he felt jealousy, but not necessarily toward whom. When Suitcase had gently turned him down, explaining that she saw him more as a brother, Balloon hadn't appeared sad; instead, he had seemed almost relieved. It hadn't made sense then, but now it was all starting to piece together.

Bot could see their thoughts churning, hopeful that their reflections would lead to reconciliation. With the bell signalling the start of another class, Bot quietly slipped away from the table, silently hoping their words had made a difference.

As the bell echoed through the school, everyone prepared for their next lessons.

Test Tube and Fan successfully sent the email, ensuring it looked professional and legitimate. They swiftly deleted any trace of it from Mephone's view before he returned to his office. The email was crafted impeccably, possibly even better than Mephone could have managed. They hurriedly left the office before the bell rang, finding refuge behind the office building wall, catching their breaths and relishing their successful deception. Pulling it off had been nerve-wracking, but they had managed it! Now, all they could do was wait and hope that Pickle would reach out to Knife—whether it would take days, weeks, or perhaps even sooner.

Test Tube and Fan exchanged a high five in celebration of their accomplishment. They chuckled together, their adrenaline still pumping. Fan dearly hoped their plan would work; he wanted nothing more than to see Knife happy again. He also hoped it would ease Test Tube's worries about Knife's intentions towards him. Fan longed for Test Tube to trust Knife and him again, wanting to rebuild their friendship without the lingering concern that Knife might cross a boundary. Deep down, Fan couldn't deny his lingering crush on Knife, making their efforts even more meaningful to him.

"Thank you, Test Tube, for doing this for Knife," Fan said, looking up at his girlfriend with a pleading expression.

"I did it for us, not Knife," she replied firmly, meeting his gaze. "I can't let Knife keep trying to get to you. I don't want him to jeopardise our relationship, Fan. If helping him reunite with Pickle means he'll back off, then I'll do whatever it takes."

Fan reached out, gently touching her cheek. "Test Tube, you know my love is with you."

"I know you love me," Test Tube responded softly, but her expression grew pained. "But I can't ignore how you look at Knife. I see it, Fan. I know he makes you feel things, even if it's not love like you feel for me."

Fan's gaze fell to the floor, guilt washing over him. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to..."

"I know," Test Tube sighed, her tone softening as she dropped her arms. "I just hope this plan works and Pickle talks to Knife again, so he stops flirting with you." She squeezed Fan's hand. "I really hope this works."

Taking a deep breath, Fan nodded. "And if it doesn't, I promise I'll cut ties with Knife. Even though I want to be his friend, I won't let him come between us. You come first."

"I don't want you to lose a friend," Test Tube said sadly, managing a small smile.

"Let's hope for the best, for everyone's sake."